Syrian state media reported today, Thursday, citing a military source, that Israel launched an airstrike on military sites in southern Syria, resulting in some material losses. The media quoted the source as saying that the missiles that flew over Baalbek in Lebanon targeted several sites, without specifying them.
Israel has been conducting strikes for years on what it describes as targets linked to Iran in Syria, where Iran's influence has increased since it began supporting President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war that began in 2011.
Two defectors from the Syrian army familiar with the matter indicated that the strikes were believed to have targeted an air defense base belonging to the army and a radar station in Tal Qalib and Tal al-Masih in the southwestern province of Sweida.
A resident near the city of Shahba in Sweida province reported seeing flames from a distance, while the sound of ambulance sirens rushing to the site was heard. The Israeli army refrained from commenting on the reports regarding the strike in Syria.
Western intelligence sources say it is believed that the Syrian army's 4th Division, allied with Iran, along with Iranian factions that have a presence in the southern area, manages a billion-dollar drug trade across the border with Jordan.
